Uprising Alternate
by badwrong-princess
Summary: Ten years after canceling the apocalypse and everyone is left picking up the pieces in one way or another. Young Jake Pentecost had been running the streets, stealing and selling Jaeger parts on the black market. One disastrous run-in with the law— thanks to a bratty teen and an unregistered Jaeger— he was right back at the PPDC and confronted with everything he had left behind.
1. Homecoming

Hey! So this is a Twin AU that's completely self-indulgent on my part. Completely un-beta'd and while I'm planning on keeping things kinda close to Uprising's OG plot (sorry all who don't like that) this is be more freeform and flowing and I'll just go with the flow.

I hope this entertains you! :)

* * *

Jake sat there in the cell, right next to the girl he dubbed "Smalley", bouncing in left leg erratically.

"Wouldn't have gotten caught if you had just let me pilot."

Smalley scoffed. "There's no way I would let you pilot my Jaeger."

That started a small argument; nothing spectacular just certainly louder than they had any right to be considering the situation they were in. They were cut off by a pair of PPDC officers entering the cell. They pulled Jake up to his feet and led— well dragged— him into an interrogation room. A site familiar to him.

He sat there going over his explanation of how that pile of junk hadn't been his; he didn't even know the girl. He just got caught in the wrong place and wrong time.

The small hologram projector that sat mounted on the table clicked to life and the projection of an officer appeared before him. Or rather the projection of a Marshal.

"It is good to see you, Jake."

He swallowed, "Hey sis."

They talked for a bit, simply catching up the way siblings did, Jake keeping most of his exploits vague while Mako told him about some of the events that had been going on at the base and some of the advancements made in Jaeger technology. His twin brother, Finn, had come back some two years ago from America along with some other Rangers.

"Wow..." Jake mumbled, realizing how much he had truly missed.

Mako fell silent for a moment, simply taking the time to really take in her brother. She thought he looked tired and wore out. "Jake—"

"You know..." he cut in, "I shouldn't even be in here really."

Mako raised an eyebrow at him. "You were caught in an unregistered Jaeger."

"Not by choice," Jake said only to realize how dumb that sounded. No one got caught in an unregistered Jaeger by choice. "I don't even know that girl."

"You know I cannot let this slide. You already have a criminal record a mile high."

"Come on," Jake slid his chair forward. "I wouldn't do well in jail. I'm too pretty."

Mako looked unimpressed. "Jake."

"Listen...I just need my sister, to help me out of here." He pleaded. "For the last time."

There was a pause where Mako took her time, straightening her military issued jacket. "There might be a way I can help," she said softly.

Jake clapped his hands together and sat back. "That's more like it," he smiled, "I'm all ears. Tell me what I have to do."

"I want you to re-enlist."

Jake balked at the idea. "What? Mako..." He scoffed. "I'm too old to be a cadet."

"I don't want you to be a cadet. I want you to train them."

"I don't want to train children!"

"We miss you, Jake," she said softly, "Finn and I...Nate as well."

Jake fell silent at the mention of his ex-co-pilot. He shook his head a bit. "I can't re-enlist."

"It's either that or jail time."

Jake groaned.

A smile pulled at Mako's lips. "I have a transport waiting for the two of you."

"Two?"

Then she was gone, the hologram clicked off. Jake sat there for a moment and rubbed his face. This was going to be a mess, he knew it. Coming into contact with people he hadn't seen in...well in nearly ten years, he didn't have a good feeling about this.


	2. Homecoming Pt 2

The transport had been swift, it wasn't like either of them had anything to pack up, and in no time they were walking out on the base of the Shatterdome.

"Why'd they take me too," Smalley asked.

"You made your own Jaeger," Jake said simply, "they like that kind of thing."

"Then how come I'm just a cade—" she gasped, whirling around as something caught her eye. "That's Valor Omega! And, and that's Saber Athena!"

Jake just shook his head. "Cool it, Smalley."

"It's Amara."

"What?" He cupped a hand around his ear. "Can't hear you from down there."

She jabbed him with her elbow, but before he could gently shove her back another familiar face caught his attention. It was Nate, looking like a perfectly put together military man; tall, broad shoulders, with a stern look in his eyes. Jake couldn't believe that he of all people had been chosen to come a greet them. He wondered if that had been Mako's doing; knowing that he would have put off talking to Nate for as long as possible. Nate was followed by a young woman, a short brunette with her hair pulled in three separate buns. She grinned a bit when she saw them.

Once they were close enough Jake raised his chin in greeting. "How are you, Nate?"

Nate folded his arms and puffed out his chest. "That's Ranger Lamber to you."

"Really?"

"This is a military installation, you remember how those work don't you, Ranger Pentecost."

Amara's mouth fell open as she looked up at him.

"You must be Amara, I'm Ranger Jakks," the young woman said.

She straightened up and nodded. "Yes, sir- I mean ma'am. Ranger ma'am."

"You can just call me Rey," she chuckled which only made Nate shake his head.

"Alright, let's go get you both settled," Nate said and turned to lead them into the base. "Oh...and try not to steal anything while you're here."

Jake just rolled his eyes and the group headed off. Rey took Amara off to meet up with the other Cadet while probably giving her the standard speech about the rules of how the whole cadet thing worked and everything else. That left Nate and Jake alone, walking through the base toward Jake's new quarters.

"I think this is a mistake you know."

Jake doesn't say anything immediately, he doesn't look up at Nate either. "Can't say I disagree."

Nate pushed open a door and motioned for Jake to go inside. "You're rooming with your brother."

"Just like when we were kids then."

Nate didn't say anything else, just turned on his heels and left.

* * *

It didn't take Jake very long to settle in. He showered and changed his clothes; it honestly felt like heaven. He had never complained about crashing in and around abandoned mansions and other places, but he'd take a hot shower over a cold one any time of day. Folding his old tattered and torn shirt and pants, placing them in one of the drawers and hung up his jacket.

He had so little compared to his brother.

Looking toward Finn's side of the room he could see all of the things he had presumably collected over the years. Books, papers, pens and pencils, photos, and other little knick-knacks all gave his side of the room personality and life. Jake strolled over and took a closer look at the various pictures Finn had tacked up.

Finn had old pictures of the family; some with all four of them and some just him, Mako, and Jake. They were smiling and looked as close as could be. Some of the pictures were of their cadet days. Both boys had felt a real sense of pride when they had made the cut, the urge to impress their father burning strong within them. Then there were pictures of Finn with people Jake didn't know, one of them being that Rey woman.

At that moment Jake couldn't shake the feeling the longing. He had usually been able to push it down and smother it by keeping himself busy; parties, women, men, stealing and selling. But surrounded by the life he could have had he couldn't kill it so easily.

What was Mako thinking?

"Jake!"

He backed up and whipped around, looking like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have, before relaxing. He smiled, "Finn!"

Finn closed the space between them in a tight hug. Jake squeezed him just as hard. They both grinned and pulled away, Jake patted Finn's arm a couple of times.

"Lookit you, putting on some muscle, yeah?"

"Kylo insisted on a very strict training regiment. He said it would increase our compatibility, though I doubt we ever really needed it." Finn shrugged. "Have you gotten taller?"

Jake supposed he could understand Kylo, or whoever's, reasoning; training together could potentially help the moves flow smoother between the co-pilots. He shook his head a little bit, not wanting to think about drifting or co-pilots at this point. He grinned a bit wider. "Of course, I am your big bro after all."

They let go of each other and a semi-uncomfortable silence settled over them. Jake moved over to his side of the room and settled down on his own bed.

"It's really good to see you, Jake." Finn started, sounding a bit awkward as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I know things were never really good between you and dad but...when you vanished and then dad dying—"

"Finn," Jake cut in gently. He really wasn't in the right mindset for this kind of emotional outpouring. Maybe a different day, but not right now. "I'm not going anywhere." At least not any time soon.

Finn let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face. "Yeah, yeah...I guess it's kinda late, isn't it? You must have some pretty terrible jetlag." He took a few steps toward the door. "You should relax."

All of a sudden Jake felt really really shitty. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I just need a bit of time," he said, "we can talk more tomorrow after we deal with the cadets, yeah?"

Finn smiled at him, a genuine one that made Jake feel a little bit better. "Yeah, tomorrow. Have a good night Jake."

Finn headed out, leaving Jake to his own thoughts. He relaxed and laid back on his bed, his hands folded behind his head. He didn't belong here, he knew that, but he supposed he could tough it out for the time being.


	3. Cadets

Rey had been nice enough, explaining the ins and outs of the protocol of the base. The cadets would be up and training by 6 AM and if she missed a day she'd be out back where they had found her. She had given Amara a quick tour, showing her where the mess hall was, the showers, and other important things she would probably need to know.

"Don't let Ranger Lambert's demeanor shake you," Rey said, "he's just very serious about getting the cadets ready to be rangers. Wants us to be ready at a moments notice."

Amara nodded a bit. "It's fine, I want to be ready. Don't wanna have to wait around."

Rey stayed quiet but nodded. Amara wondered if she really understood.

They walked around the corner and headed through a pair of automatic doors. Amara saw two rows of people maybe only a couple of years older than herself standing in front of their bunks. Rey stood there a moment, just long enough to let them get in order.

"Cadets," she said with a smile on her face, "This is Amara Namani. She'll be joining you all in the simulator bright and early tomorrow morning. You all will also be meeting a new inspector tomorrow as well. I expect you all to be on your best behavior."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Rey nodded. "Cadet Malikova," she said to a tall and thin blonde girl. "Help Namani get settled in a ready for training."

"Yes, ma'am."

An easy smile made its way onto her face. "As you were Cadets," she said with a nod. Then with one last look at Amara, she left the Cadets to themselves. Malikova gave Amara a cold look before they brushed right past her.

Amara was used to getting looks like that; a teen orphan out on the streets didn't inspire a lot of sympathy out of people. Kids sure, they were young and vulnerable and needed someone or else they barely stood a chance. But once you were considered 'old enough' to be out on your own...that was it. One could potentially run into a sympathetic face every now and then, but if you went out looking for one you'd find disappointment quick.

So, Amara shook it off and followed after the tall blonde. "Soo...where shou—"

"Heard you made your own Jaeger." Malikova didn't look at her, instead, they were busy with some kind of helmet.

"Uh yeah, Scrapper, she's a single—"

"If you want to build junk then become a mechanic," Malikova spoke with poison in their voice. "This is a place for pilots."

Before Amara could tell them off— it wasn't like she asked to be transported here— another cadet stepped up.

"Hey," he said with a warm and friendly smile, "I'll help you get squared away."

He offered to take her bag and she handed it off.

"Thanks...um?"

"Jinhai, Ou-Yang Jinhai." He stopped at an empty bunk and set her bag down next to it. "So, buddies with Vik already huh?"

"Vik?"

"It's short for Viktoriya," another cadet, this guy shorter than Jinhai and slimmer too, spoke up. "But you don't want to call them that."

Something came flying through the air and nearly hit the short guy. Amara could guess where it had come from.

"What's her problem," she whispered to Jinhai.

"Took em three times to pass the entrance exam," a girl said. "She probably doesn't like how you landed here."

Amara scoffed and folded her arms. "Not like I had much of a choice. Recruiters never go looking for people where I'm from."

All they got were Jaegers patrolling and policing around.

Jinhai brushed it off and shrugged. "You know any Russian," he asked, his head cocked off to the side a bit with a half smirk on his lips.

"No..."

"Come on, I'll teach you. Comms are down and we don't have any more duties tonight."

Amara wasn't sure what use Russian would be to her in a place like this, but she was sure it'd be an easy way to help her settle in. While they worked Amara had been properly introduced to the rest of the cadets, the two who spoke to her earlier had been Suresh and Renata. Everyone, with the exception of Vik, was pleasant enough though Amara could tell that they had been together for a long while.

Amara knew about the Drift and what it really meant, no secrets, no barriers or walls. Whoever she ended up being compatible with would basically know everything about her. She wondered if she'd be able to handle that. She had built Scrapper as a single pilot rig partially for that reason.

Someone told a joke and everybody laughed, Amara followed suit.

She supposed only time would be able to tell.

* * *

Short chapter this time around. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

Every time I write something I always get worried that I'm going way off base with the characters (Especially with Finn and Kylo since I've completely disregarded TLJ cause I hate it) but I've decided to stop worrying so much and just go for it. If I'm off base then I'm off base. It's my silly self-indulgent fanfic anyways :P

Thanks to everyone for being patient about waiting for this chapter. Sorry, it took so long, heh. Hope you've been enjoying it!

* * *

Finn was usually among the first up and about on base. Some would wonder how he could function with so little rest, but in the world, Finn grew up in rest had been hard to come by, so he learned to go without it. Jake was across the room, snoring rather loudly, and Finn could help the small, tired smile that made its way onto his lips.

He rubbed his face with his hands and stood up, quietly making his way out of the room— he'd let Jake have the extra forty-five minutes— and head toward the gym. He passed a few people on his way there; some heading to mess early, or to find a few moments of privacy on the crowded base. Finn mainly kept his eyes forward, not wanting to startle some of the younger ones off of their goal. Wonders of living on base.

As he grew closer to the gym he could hear the sounds of someone smacking a practice dummy around. Finn smiled; he knew who it was.

"You're up early," he said as he walked into the gym.

Kylo hit the dummy one more time before he lowered the staff, the tension leaving his shoulders. Finn and Kylo had known each other for nearly all of their lives and had been co-pilots for the better part of five years. They knew each other better than anyone.

"I could say the same to you." Kylo's voice was light and slightly amused.

They moved closer to each other, Kylo pushing strands of his thick black hair from his sweaty forehead. Finn kissed him. "Yeah, I guess you could. How long have you been here?"

"A little less than an hour."

"You sleep less than I do."

"How's your brother?"

Finn pressed his lips together and leaned against his partner. Throughout the years Finn had always imagined what kind of family reunion he would have with everyone; his parents, Jake, and Mako. There were always happy occasions; maybe not a giant celebration, but an occasion full of warm smiles and words and a lot of catching up to do. The reality was rarely that kind. "He just got here, I haven't had much time to talk to him."

Kylo simply hummed; he knew all too well about fractured families. Unfortunately, unlike Finn himself, he had never been good at comforting others with words.

"Come," he said as he pulled away from Finn, setting the staff back down in its place. "I know you haven't showered yet."

A look of shock crossed over Finn's face.

Kylo rolled his eyes. "You're still in your sleepwear," he explained, "you smell fine."

"What about our training regiment?"

"We still have time," he said and pulled Finn by the arm, "come on."

Finn chuckled softly and shook his head, moving along with Kylo and slipped his hand in Kylo's. "Alright, you wash my back and I'll wash yours."

* * *

Getting up at five forty-five was worse than Jake had imagined. Finn had already left. He was going to have to ask him how he managed it. He did a quick wash and dress— a skill he learned as a drifter— and headed out of the room down to the mess hall.

The base was already abuzz with life. People moving from here and there, all with purpose in their steps. Jake felt out of place. Ever since he had been kicked out of the cadet program he had lost that purpose in his walk, he just went with the flow. There wasn't really any other way to live out there.

"Hey Fi— "

Jake was startled when someone basically crashed into him. He tensed, his fist balled tightly, a reflex he had developed over the years. He came face to face with a pale burnet who had an embarrassed look on his face.

"H-Hey! Sorry, Finn, I didn't mean— "

"Wrong guy, bruv."

The guy blinked at Jake and narrowed his eyes. "Oh! Oh...sorry. I can see it now. You got the facial hair. You must be Finn's brother. I'm Francis though everyone calls me Slip."

Jake's face stayed perfectly plain. "Slip?"

Slip burst out in a bunch of nervous chuckles. "Yeah. It's not like...bad or anything. I'm just kinda clumsy sometimes. It's why I never ended up passing to become a pilot. But I'm a pretty good mechanic so...yeah, not all bad. Not really."

Jake figured things must have been pretty bad if they were letting klutzes on to the base. "Look, I dunno where my brother is. He was gone before I woke up this morning."

"Oh."

"And I gotta hurry and eat so I can go help the cadets train. Nice meeting you." He turned before Slip had a chance to say anything else.

Jake headed into the mess hall, grabbing himself some coffee and a quick breakfast. He still had a bit of trouble wrapping his head around that he was actually here. He glanced around and spotted his brother sitting with some tall guy and a pasty ginger. The tall guy and the ginger looked they were in the middle of some kind of argument and Finn was trying to calm them down.

Jake decided to not sit with his brother today.

His had luckily finished his breakfast quickly because as soon as he was finished throwing his trash away Nate had found him and told him to follow. He followed, a bit more than a step or two behind, quietly with his hands in his pockets.

Jake noted how straight Nate walked, his broad shoulders rolled back, steps even, and his arms at his side. Jake bit the inside of his bottom lip; this man was so different from that kind of lanky kid he had been when Jake left the program. Nate had filled out nicely.

They walked through the base and into a large and rather familiar looking room.

"You're helping me set up the simulator for the cadets."

"Sure, whatever."

They set about their task, Jake picking things up pretty quickly. Things in the simulator hadn't changed all that much, and Nate and Jake moved around each other with a kind of easy effortlessness that Jake hadn't felt with another person in a long long time.

"Which Jaeger you been piloting," Jake asked suddenly.

Nate stopped and looked over at him. "What's got you so curious?"

Jake shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "Just been wondering what's been..." He trailed off, not really sure where he was going with all of this.

"Wandering Avenger."

Jake's eyes widened. "The Jaeger made from Mako's old rig? Lady Danger?"

Nate nodded, a look of a kind satisfaction on his face before it fell. "Yeah...though I've been grounded since my co-pilot went off to the private sector."

"What for?"

"The PPDC doesn't pay all that well."

"You don't have a new co-pilot yet?"

"No."

Jake nodded slowly; he wondered if that was another reason why Mako insisted on him reenlisting. It would be easier for him and Nate to pilot together if need be, rather than try to continue cycling through potentials in hopes someone else clicks with Nate in the way they did.

"Alright we're done here," Nate said, heading back out the door of the simulator room. "I'm going to tell Rey to get the cadets ready for training."

Then he was gone.

Jake let out a deep sigh from his chest and ran his hands down his face. He already felt exhausted.


End file.
